Intel's new mobile lineup: Desktop performance in portable packaging

Michael Brown |
June 3, 2013

Intel unleashed its fourth-generation Core processors today, and the focus is overwhelmingly on mobile chips.

CPUs in the U and Y series are low-power system-on-chip (SoC) parts designed for notebooks fitting Intel's Ultrabook definition (you can read about Intel's new definition of an Ultrabook here). The 1.7GHz Core i7-4650U and the 1.4GHz Core i5-4350U are dual-core CPUs with hyperthreading and integrated Intel HD Graphics 5000 GPUs. These parts have TDPs of just 15 watts. Y series chips will be Intel's lower-power SoCs designed for tablets and notebooks with detachable screens. Chips in the U series will feature Intel's Iris integrated graphics technology, while Y series parts will be Intel's lowest-power SoCs, with SDPs as low as six watts.

Intel boasts that Haswell will deliver the biggest increase in battery life in Intel's history. Where a third-generation Core i7-3667U with a TDP of 20 watts (17 watts for the CPU, plus three watts for the southbridge) is capable of delivering six hours of HD video playback, according to Intel, a fourth-generation Core i7-4650U with a 15-watt TDP will deliver 9.1 hours of playback. And where the old CPU could provide 4.5 days of standby time, the new part should be able to deliver 10 to 13 days of standby time.